Moonshot Moves Forward Thanks to Biden Initiative

Like all great adventures, it began as an idea. What if the United States could make huge advancements in the fight against cancer in a short amount of time? How could that be accomplished? What are the metrics? How much would it cost? Who could direct such an effort?

During President Obama’s final State of the Union address in January 2016, he turned to Vice President Joe Biden and asked him to take his years of service, wisdom, connections, and commitment and attempt a moonshot to enhance efforts to treat cancer. Ultimately, the Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, as it was dubbed that final year he was the vice president, was to “make a decade’s worth of advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in five years.”

Throughout 2016, the vice president traveled the country, held listening sessions, and brought experts together to find real recommendations to achieve the Moonshot’s stated mission. At many of the events, oncology nurses were literally front and center. From Duke University to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, ONS members added to the understanding of the importance of patient-centered care and symptom management education.

Bidens Hold Cancer Community Summit September 2018

On September 21, 2018, a national Biden Cancer Community Summit will be held “to focus on the patient’s journey from prevention through a cancer diagnosis, treatment through survivorship, and determine what we must do to accelerate progress.” The Bidens will live stream the event so that programs across the country can simulcast the sessions and develop their own local happenings to enhance the Biden Cancer Initative’s agenda.

21st Century Cures Act

On December 7, 2016, the U.S. Senate, during a special post-election session, passed the 21st Century Cures Act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 94-5. It was a high point and saw substantial increases in allocations to several federal agencies across the government that would concentrate on moving the needle in the cancer arena. In particular, the National Institutes of Health received a boost of $1.8 billion specifically for the Biden Cancer Moonshot.

National Institute of Nursing Research

National Institute of Nursing Research updated its patient brochure, Palliative Care: The Relief You Need When You Have a Serious Illness. The revised publication is available in English and Spanish.

To order free print copies, email your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and requested quantities of English and Spanish to info@ninr.nih.gov.

The Future of the Moonshot

Since Joe and Jill Biden have left government service, they have created the Biden Foundation, and its offshoot, the Biden Cancer Initiative (BCI).

In July 2018 at ONS’s annual Leadership Weekend, Chase Jones, community partnerships and operations advisor at BCI, spoke to a packed room on his role, vision, and personal experiences as a college student who survived brain cancer. He asked for ONS’s continued support and lauded oncology nurses for their unwavering commitment to their patients. He received a standing ovation from ONS chapter leaders.

Federal investment in the Moonshot continues through legislative allocations. The U.S. House of Representative’s Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee held a hearing on July 25, titled “21st Century Cures Implementation: Updates From FDA and NIH.” At the public meeting, Committee Chair Michael C. Burgess, MD (R-TX), said, “The innovation and promising results of efforts included in Cures will certainly provide Americans suffering from cancer and other diseases with the opportunity to undergo successful treatments, and in some cases, to be cured.”

BCI is poised to transform cancer care as we know it. The Institute is “fueled by urgency; we stand on behalf of every patient, every family, every community having to deal with a cancer diagnosis and the complex and confusing maze they must navigate thereafter.” Oncology nurses are an integral part of that process.

ONS immediate past president, Susan M. Schneider, PhD, RN, AOCN®, FAAN, a BCI board member, said, “As the only nurse on the BCI board, I am able to voice the perspective of nursing on important BCI goals such as improving prevention and early detection as well as reducing disparities in access to care.”

For more information on the Biden Cancer Collaborative, Biden Cancer Colloquia, or #CancerFierce, visit bidencancer.org.